Stoke City bid to sign Michael Owen hangs in balance

Stoke City’s ambitious bid to sign Michael Owen is in the balance after it
emerged the club and the player are nowhere near agreeing terms.

Going nowhere: Talks between Stoke City and former Manchester United star Michael Owen have not yet to result in a dealPhoto: REUTERS

By John Percy

7:52PM BST 11 Aug 2012

Owen is keen to remain in the Premier League after his release from Manchester United at the end of last season and has held talks with Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager.

But the deal looks doomed as Stoke are only prepared to offer the 32 year-old a structured deal based on appearances, due to his poor injury record at United. Owen spent three seasons at Old Trafford but made only four appearances in his final campaign and has not played since United’s Champions League clash with Otelul Galati in November.

Stoke were planning to offer Owen a 12-month deal with the promise of an extension if he plays a certain number of games, a similar deal to the one offered to Jonathan Woodgate last summer. But Owen’s representatives are believed to be seeking a more lucrative package and Stoke are now looking at other forwards, with Spurs’ England international Jermain Defoe a likely target if fringe players are sold to raise money.

Joey Barton will not be signing for Fleetwood Town after the League Two club confirmed they have failed to agree a loan deal. Barton, the QPR midfielder, has been training with Fleetwood since the end of last month but will now return to Rangers. The 29 year-old is serving a 12-game ban after his dismissal against Manchester City on the final day of last season and later being found guilty of two counts of violent conduct by the Football Association. Blackpool has emerged as a potential destination.

Steve Kean’s reign at Blackburn Rovers appears to be even more uncertain after Rovers’ global advisor, Shebby Singh, insisted that he would be sacked if he loses three games in a row this season.

El Hadji Diouf, the former Blackburn winger, has agreed to sign for Neil Warnock, barely 18 months after the Leeds manager branded him a “sewer rat”.

Terry Venables, the former England manager, made a successful start to his reign as technical advisor at Wembley FC, guiding the Combined Counties League Premier Division side to a 3-2 win over Langford in their FA Cup extra preliminary round tie. Wembley’s squad included a string of recognised names including Martin Keown, Graeme Le Saux, Ray Parlour, Claudio Caniggia and Brian McBride.

Substitute Chris Iwelumo’s extra-time goal secured victory for Gianfranco Zola in his first competitive game in charge of Watford.

Zola is back in management after he was sacked by West Ham two years ago and his late substitution paid off as striker Iwelumo found the net in the 108th minute to see off League Two Wycombe in the first round of the Capital One Cup.

Stale Solbakken endured a difficult debut in English football as his new Wolverhampton Wanderers team secured a nervy 7-6 win on penalties over Aldershot. Steve Bruce almost suffered embarrassment in his first game in charge of Hull City before a 7-6 victory over Rotherham, also on penalties.